This is my third week participating in Friday Fictioneers — something I started to do as a way to prod myself into writing more. It helps, and it’s a bit of fun. I’m not quite used to the idea of being presented with a photograph and told to write a story about it. Ordinarily, I would keep shuffling through photos until I found one that suited me, and then I would write a story. That of course is not an option here, which is part of the value of Friday Fictioneers … you’re kind of stuck with a photo and can’t take the easy way out!

When I saw this week’s photo, my first reaction was: What the hell is that? I followed the photograph’s copyright link hoping to get some background info, but couldn’t find anything related to this particular photograph. So … *Cough!* … gonna kind of wing it here.

“What the hell is that!” I yelled over the din of the helicopter blades.

“Home!” Gary yelled back. “Hah hah hah!” Gary’s wild and crazed eyes danced back and forth between me and the house in the crater down below.

“Easy there, buddy,” I yelled, nodding at the stick in his hands. “How about let’s land this thing before you go all Linda Blair on me.”

“Right, right, right! Hah hah!” Gary yelled back.

I watched anxiously as we circled the house and began to descend toward the helicopter pad. Apart from the house, the floor of the crater was carpeted in dense foliage and nothing more. The house itself butted up against the wall of the crater — a steep cliff into which a stairway had been carved that linked the house to the rest of the neighborhood.

“You use that stairway much?” I yelled.

“Every day,” Gary yelled back. “Have to, if I want to get my mail.”

“You know … Gary, you should consider moving to the top. You know, where you would have access to the road, your mailbox, plumbing … shit like that.”

“Can’t,” yelled Gary. “Nick Nolte has a house up there. If the two of us were to accidentally bump into one another, it could open up a rift in the spacetime continuum that could suck the whole damn universe in! Schlurrp!”

I felt the helicopter lurch sideways as Gary excitedly described the universe being sucked into a giant vortex. “Easy, easy,” I said. “Let’s please get on the ground!”

21 Responses to What the Hell is THAT?

Amazing how this challenge teaches us to frugality of verbage, isn’t it? I’ve learned a lot about word conservation and strong verbs since I started. Also. I don’t allow myself to change the photo if I can’t come up with something right away. (I didn’t start out as the facilitator of this lovely group)

Ha.. to really know were the photo was taken can both help you or limit your options… I know (it’s not the first time my photo has been used. In any case the photo was taken on a levada-walk close to rebeira dos freirors on the beautiful island of Madeira I visited last winter…

I would definitely try to get grounded flying with a pilot like that… next step I assume he want to take me through that vortex….

Yeah … I didn’t notice how long I was here at around 250 words. The problem is I wrote that first piece before the story and of course WordPress gave me a rolling word count for the entire post, intro and all. Doh! 😛

LOL! I thought about referencing the motorcycle wreck, but I thought it might sound mean spirited. 😛

I have a tendency to forget Gary Busey’s name and the only name that comes to mind is Nick Nolte. For some reason, I always look up the movie Contact when that happens, not because Gary Busey was in it, but because his brother Jake was in it. I see “Jake Busey” and go “oh right … Gary Busey.”

I was going to josh you a little about the word count, but it looks as though others have beat me to the punch. 🙂 I spent quite a while learning how to craft these tiny flashes and sometimes they still creep a bit above the set number.